This invention relates generally to dietary supplement compositions and, more specifically, to the dietary control of physiologically-induced stress by means of oral administration of fructose.
Sugar is the fuel from which body cells obtain energy for cellular activities. When the diet contains carbohydrates, fats and proteins, these foods are broken down to smaller units; sugars, colloidal fats, and short chains of amino acids or individual amino acids by the enzymes and acids of the digestive tract. These smaller molecules are then carried by the blood to the cells which use the sugars immediately or store the excess sugar as glycogen (or fat). The fats are used for various syntheses or are stored for later use while new proteins are made from the amino acids. If no sugars are being added to the blood from the digestive tract the glycogen storage cells, particularly in the liver, convert their stored glycogen into the sugar, glucose. This glucose passes into the blood stream to all of the parts of the body. Normally, the body regulates this concentration of blood glucose within narrow limits. This regulation is controlled by hormones from the endocrine glands.
A short time after the ingestion of carbohydrates a high concentration of simple sugars is present in the blood. The hypothalamic brain cells detect this condition and initiate a set of biochemical readjustments; i.e., they cease their direct and indirect (pituitary pathway) stimulation of the glycogen-converting sympathetic system cells. The pancreas releases insulin into the blood when glucose is present.
Insulin aids the storage of excess sugar by influencing the transport of glucose from the blood stream into the storage cells where it is converted into glycogen. Glycogen is biologically inert and can be reconverted to glucose by an enzyme in the cells. Each molecule of insulin released from the pancreas helps to move thousands of glucose molecules from the blood into the cells before the insulin becomes inactivated by enzymes in the cells.
When a low blood glucose condition exists, the body recognizes this condition as a stress and initiates the stress response; that is, the hypothalamic cells in the brain signal the pituitary to stimulate the adrenal glands to mobilize adrenalin. The pituitary accomplishes this effect by releasing the hormone ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone). This hormone stimulates the cells of the outer portion of the adrenal gland to release a hormone called hydroxycortisone. The presence of hydroxycortisone in the blood flowing through the middle or medulla of the adrenal gland causes these cells to release adrenalin. Adrenalin increases the conversion of glycogen to glucose, thereby raising the blood sugar concentration.
The disorder of cell fuel regulation in which the concentration of sugar in the blood stream is so low that the cells are almost starved is called "hypoglycemia." This is not a distinct disease having only one cause, but rather, a stress condition that can be effected by different defects or malfunctions within the regulatory systems of the body. Hypoglycemia becomes a noticeably serious health problem only when the condition is maintained for long periods (chronic hypoglycemia) or when a drastic shift occurs to very low blood sugar levels (acute hypoglycemia). In a mild condition it causes fatigue, nervousness, irritability and insomnia. Hypoglycemia is also associated with obesity, alcoholism, headaches, ulcers and some phychotic disorders.
Problems related to the regulation of blood sugar level and, particularly, low blood sugar are not restricted to any single age group. Rather, it is believed that such varied disorders as colic in babies, hyperactivity in children, ulcers in adults, and certain psychiatric disorders have characteristics which implicate or are associated with difficulties in the regulation of the blood sugar concentration.
When the adrenal gland and steriod-adrenalin-release systems of the body are insufficient or ineffective the blood sugar level will remain low. Fatigue and emotional depression are common features of this type of hypoglycemia. When the body's regulatory systems which convert glucose to glycogen are defective there will be no storage of glycogen. In such a situation, despite large amounts of adrenalin circulating in the blood stream, the blood sugar level will remain low. The excessive amounts of adrenalin can result in hunger pangs, increased tension and anxiety, and can also result in severe headaches. It is further believed that a deficiency of blood sugar and an excess of adrenalin may cause, in some persons, mental confusion, depression and abnormal social behavior.
It should be emphasized, however, that low blood sugar does not have to reach disease proportions in order to be considered a stress. Every time blood sugar drops below a certain threshold level, the stress response will be initiated. Even in a normal individual on a normal diet, such a reaction will occur many times during an average day. In fact, it has been demonstrated that one fourth or more of the total stress response experienced by a normal individual in an average day can be due to blood sugar control.
So, although hypoglycemia creates a more obvious stress with more obvious stress-related symptoms, a "normal" individual can experience a great deal of physiological stress, most or all of which may go completely unrecognized. Since it is generally accepted that stress contributes to such varied disorders as coronary thrombosis, hypertension, peptic ulcers and gallstones in addition to a variety of nervous disorders, this unrecognized physiological stress can be extremely significant.
Chronic hypoglycemia, as discussed herein, is meant to include all of the variants of the low blood sugar condition which are of a generally regular or continual character. When because of an error in the way the body handles the metabolism of sugar, blood glucose levels are constantly below normal, a person is considered to be a "chronic" hypoglycemic. This creates a continuing stress condition and can be manifested by symptoms such as periodic fatigue, anxiety, headaches, food and alcohol cravings, and nervous disorders, etc. which occur over extended periods; i.e., for weeks, months, years and even an entire lifetime. Chronic, or functional, hypoglycemia can be distinguished from acute hypoglycemia in that the latter is essentially a specific instance of a low blood sugar condition which is not of extended duration.
It is believed that one cause of chronic hypoglycemia is that insulin is released by the pancreas into the blood stream so effectively that the glucose which is normally needed for cellular fuel is instead removed from the blood and stored. The body responds to this situation by exercising the control system for increasing blood glucose levels; that is, adrenalin is produced. Because blood levels of glucose are constantly low in a hypoglycemic, adrenalin is almost constantly produced. Normally, adrenalin is also released as a result of other kinds of stress (e.g., environmentally-induced stress), making one alert, on edge and tense. Usually this stress response is transitory and, when the stress is removed, the adrenalin levels decrease and a tranquil condition returns. Chronic hypoglycemia, however, creates in the body a constant stress requiring continual stress response. Depending upon the way a person reacts to the chronic stress situation, and his ability to deal with it, different conditions can result.
As mentioned earlier, one of the consequences of elevated adrenalin in the body is the reaction we normally experience as hunger pangs. A person with chronic hypoglycemia may thus attempt to alleviate the situation by excessive eating. Yet, because of the metabolic error that created the hypoglycemic condition, few of these calories become available to maintain the blood sugar level. They are instead diverted into the production of fat, causing the person a weight-control problem.
If a hypoglycemic person is already a heavy drinker for social and/or emotional reasons, or possibly as a direct result of his physiological stress, he can derive some unexpected physiological benefits from the alcohol. Because alcohol can depress the hypothalamic demand for fuel, the alcoholic can, by taking a drink, experience temporary relief from his stress symptoms. He can experience more permanent relief by drinking a lot. Thus, although he does not realize it, the alcoholic's dependency can be his way of treating the consequences of his hypoglycemia.
It has been suggested that schizophrenia can occur in hypoglycemic persons who are unable to deal with the physiological consequences of the chronic stress response. In these extreme circumstances, the reaction of the individual to his physiological state can be psychotic behavior. Others may respond to the stress in less extreme ways and develop more common stress-related symptoms such as peptic ulcers or hypertension (high blood pressure).